Membership in the Educational Retirement System is required for CNM employees. Members contribute 7.825% of earnings, deducted pre-tax and CNM contributes 10.9%.
The New Mexico Educational Retirement Act (ERA) is a Defined Benefit Plan. An advantage of such a plan is that unlike a Defined Contribution Plan, where you receive back only what you put in plus any accrued interest, benefits are based on a formula and the benefits can be substantially more than your contributions.
403(b) plans, known as Tax Sheltered Annuities, and a 457 plan, known as a Deferred Compensation plan, are offered to CNM employees as supplemental savings plans to their pension and Social Security. Through convenient payroll deductions, these plans allow employees to save regularly with before-tax dollars while deferring federal, state, and local income taxes. Employees do not pay tax on allowable contributions and their earnings until they begin making withdrawals from the plan, usually after retirement.
A list of providers of 403(b) plans can be downloaded here (27 KB ) 
CNM's Deferred Compensation provider is Nationwide® Retirement Solutions and can be reached by visiting www.newmexico457dc.com or calling 866-827-NMEX (6639).
